Anton Klotz

University Program Manager EMEA

http://bit.ly/academicnetwork

http://www.cadence.com/site/academicnetwork

MEMS Design Contest rules

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• Aims of the contest• Motivate design teams to start designing chips with MEMS and/or mixed-signal blocks using

X-FAB PDK and tools from Coventor and Cadence

• Spread the knowledge about the co-design of MEMS and mixed-signal

• Get new ideas how MEMS can be used and what kind of MEMS can be designed using the X-FAB PDK

• The winning team gets the possibility to manufacture a demonstrator in silicon in order to prove the functionality of the flow

Cadence, X-FAB, Coventor and Reutlingen University announce a worldwide MEMS Design Contest!

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• The solution should contain two designs:

– Mixed signal MEMS-driver and read-out logic ASIC in X-FAB XH035 technology

– MEMS device in X-FAB XMB10 or XMS10 technology

• Teams might implement both designs, or use available MEMS device from X-FAB

• Two teams (one for MEMS, one for logic) can apply for one solution

• Create a proposal, implement schematic, simulation environment and layout of the solution, co-simulate both designs to show their functionality, present the simulation waveforms and the layout

• Template for the presentation of the results will be provided

• The solution will be judged by jury from industry and academia after following criteria:

– Degree of innovation in the proposed MEMS/ASIC hardware

– Degree of innovation in the proposed MEMS/ASIC design methodology

– Novelty of the application of the proposed MEMS/ASIC design

– Educational value

– Demonstration/PR value

– Organizational value

Duty of Contest Participants

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• The awards ceremony will take place at CDNLive EMEA 2018 in Munich

• 1st prize: Manufacturing of the solution at X-FAB using X-FAB MPW service, tour through the X-FAB, a 6 month license of Coventor’sMEMS+ MEMS design solution and accommodation costs for CDNLiveEMEA 2018 in Munich for three members of the winning team

• 2nd prize: A tour of X-FAB and accommodation costs for CDNLiveEMEA 2018 in Munich for three members of the winning team

• 3rd prize: Accommodation costs for CDNLive EMEA 2018 in Munich for three members of the winning team

Prizes

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• X-FAB– Provides MEMS PDK

– Provides mixed signal PDK

– Spends wafer area for manufacturing of the winner designs

• Cadence Design Systems– Provides standard tools to contest participants through regular distribution channels:

– Virtuoso® Custom Design Platform

– Cadence® QRC Extraction

– Cadence Physical Verification System (PVS)

– Cadence Virtuoso Analog Design Environment (ADE)

• Coventor– Provides tools for 3D design and simulation of MEMS on device, circuit and system level to contest participants through

regular distribution channels– MEMS+

– CoventorWare

• University Reutlingen– Formulates and organizes the call of participation

– Academic coordination of the contest

Organizers

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• Supporters promote MEMS Design Contest in different regions:

– Europe: Europractice

– Middle East & North Africa: MASDAR Institute for Science and Technology

– India: TBD

– US: TBD

• Supporters provide software and support for the participating teams

• Promotion includes:

– Spreading the news about the contest through available media channels

– Participation at regional conferences with talk or booth

– Providing information material to interested students

• In case of strong participants from the region, supporter may help to organize a regional workshop

• Supporters also provide first level of support for the participants and first point of contact

Supporters

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• The contest is worldwide

• Companies, students groups, researchers can participate subject to the eligibility criteria of the Contest Official Rules

• There is no limit on the size of the group

• The groups should have basic experience in chip design and EDA tool handling

• The participants have to sign an NDA before they get access to PDK and regular license agreements to get EDA tools through regular distribution channels

• The organizers have the right to refuse participation of a particular group for unspecified reason

• The group must register at http://www5.cadence.com/MemsDesignContest2018_InterestLP.html in order to express interest in the contest, in April the full registration page will be enabled

Participants

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• In order to familiarize design groups with MEMS – mixed signal co-design, several workshops will be provided by the organizers

• Since the contest is worldwide, all seminars will be provided as webinars and video recordings, there will be offline workshops and meetings, but the content will become available online after the workshop

• The dates for the offline workshops will be announced later in the year

• For questions there should be regular monthly worldwide calls, where the participants can ask questions to the experts from the companies

• Cadence will provide Internet Learning Series (iLS) workshops about the basic tool features for free to the participants. They are available online and can be started any time

• Coventor will provide reference training material in an online format and propose online design reviews during the design phase, as also a design review meeting

Workshops

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• Cadence will provide set of tools, which are required for designing, implementing and simulating MEMS and mixed-signal through regular distribution channels

• Coventor will provide tools for designing and simulation of MEMS compatible to Cadence tools through regular distribution channels

• Dependent on the region and the legal status of the contest participant, the tools can be distributed through third party, such as Europractice in EMEA region

• After signing the NDA, the participants will get access to the required PDKs and IP of X-FAB

• All parties have the right to decline distribution of tools and PDKs for unspecified reasons

Design Tools and PDK

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1. Design groups can express interest in attending the contest on http://www5.cadence.com/MemsDesignContest2018_InterestLP.html

2. The full registration will be possible, when the registration website is available, interested groups will be notified

3. After registration design groups will receive an NDA from X-FAB, which they should sign in order

to get access to the PDK and process documentation

4. After signing the NDA, design groups will be able to access a secure website with the PDK info

5. At CDNLive EMEA 2016, a workshop will be held for registered/NDA design groups, where

X-FAB will provide detailed info about the PDK

6. Teams submit a 4-page proposal, describing what they want to implement

7. Organizers will review the ideas for their feasibility and scope, and check if they can provide tools and PDK to the organizations behind the design groups

8. Design groups, who pass the proposal stage will get invited to the contest, and will receive tools and PDKs through the regular distribution channels, so they can start designing

9. After the design phase, the jury selects a winning team, whose design gets manufactured

Application Procedure

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• Beginning of February 2016 - Call for participation

• 17.03.2016 - DATE conference, Dresden: Open workshop about MEMS design contest, registration is open

• 03.05.2016 - CDNLive EMEA, Munich: Open presentation of MEMS Design Contest

• 04.05.2016 - CDNLive EMEA, Munich – Workshop for registered/NDA design groups, overview of process offering (X-FAB) and design flow (Cadence, Coventor)

• 31.12.2016 - End of application period and submission of proposals

• 01.01.2017 – 28.02.2017 – Review of proposals

• 01.03.2017 – Acceptance notification, PDK and software provided, design phase can start

• 2016 – 2017 – Two workshops: TBD

• 31.12.2017 – Design to be finished and disclosed, results to be presented

• 28.02.2018 - First three designs are confirmed, teams are invited to CDNLive

• CDNLive EMEA 2018 – Presentation of winning design

Timeline

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• Q: When and where will the workshops take place?– A: This will be announced after the registration period, when the organizers know where the

participation is strongest, so the workshops can be held in the appropriate areas. All materials will be available online.

• Q: How will the EDA tools be provided to participants?– A: In case the EDA tools are not already available, they can be received either through

distributors like Europractice or by contacting academic representatives in the regions. The organizers will provide contact data and support.

• Q: How will the workshop materials and confidential data will be distributed?– A: After signing the NDA, teams get access to a secure website, where the confidential materials

will be accessible.

• Q: What kind of support is available from the organizers?– A: Beside workshop materials, Cadence will provide access to online courses, which teach

Cadence® tools. A monthly call is planned, where the teams can ask questions and the experts from the organizers will answer them. Coventor will provide reference training material in an on-line format and propose on-line design reviews during the design phase. Some level of support will be provided by distributors and supporters

FAQ (1)

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• Q: How do I get access to the secure website?– A: After registration and signing of NDA, a login and password will be provided

• Q: Can a person become member of several groups and submit several designs?– A: Yes, this is allowed

• Q: Is there a communication platform between the teams?– A: We have a Facebook event page and a LinkedIn forum, where organizers and teams can post

messages

• Q: How can two groups with different specialization (MEMS, logic) find each other for common submission?– A: Please notify us during the registration, that a second team is needed, send us a presentation

about your idea. This presentation will be put on secure website, where other teams will search for partners

FAQ (2)

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• Cadence Design Systems Anton Klotz – aklotz@cadence.com

• X-Fab Jörg Doblaski – Joerg.Doblaski@xfab.com

• Coventor Gerold Schropfer – gschropfer@coventor.com

• University Reutlingen Prof. Eckhard Hennig –

Eckhard.Hennig@reutlingen-university.de

• MASDAR Institute Prof. Ibrahim Elfadel - ielfadel@masdar.ac.ae

• Europractice John McLean – john.mclean@sftc.ac.uk

Contacts and Responsible

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Degree of innovation in the proposed MEMS/ASIC hardware– How innovative is the proposed MEMS/ASIC structure in itself (without considering the application)

Degree of innovation in the proposed MEMS/ASIC design methodology– How innovative is the project in terms of the design methods used to implement the proposed hardware

(tool chain, any own design tools used, work distribution, modeling and simulation approaches, etc.)

Novelty of the application– How innovative is the application of the proposed MEMS/ASIC device (without considering the degree of

novelty of the device itself)?

Educational value– Will the project serve as a good example for teaching other prospective MEMS/ASIC designer teams how

to use the tool chain and PDKs provided by the organizers?

Demonstration/PR value– Will the project serve as a good example for showing off the capabilities and potentials of the MEMS

design flow?

Organizational value– Will the project bring together teams that have not worked closely with each other before (such as MEMS

and ASIC designers)?

Value: Explanations

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High: Project involves custom design of a MEMS or ASIC component

Substantial: Project involves (re)use or minor modification of an existing IP component

Minor: Project involves use of off-the-shelf hardware component

None: Project does not involve the design or use of a MEMS or ASIC device

Scope

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Feasibility of proposal: Explanations

Feasibility of technical goals

− Is there a good chance that the technical project goals can be achieved with the provided

tools and processes?

Feasibility of project plan

− Is there a good chance that the project goals can be achieved with the available person

power in the given timeframe of the contest?

Quality of project team

− Is the composition and organization of the project team appropriate for the project?

− Does the team have a good motivation for participating in the contest?

− Does the project team possess sufficient initial qualifications to close quickly any knowledge

gaps in tools/methodology/processes that may exist with regard to the team’s specific project

goals?